When teams and other groups engage in ongoing work together toward a common vision, it is often helpful to form a set of Community Agreements. Community Agreements are developed among a group as a collective vision for how they want to be in relationship to each other – what every person in the group needs from each other and commits to in order to feel safe, supported, open, productive and trusting.

As the National Equity Project grows and changes, we’ve had to revisit our Community Agreements. This past year we’ve engaged as a staff in an ongoing discussion of our Agreements, and recently decided to try on a new set. I share them here both to give you an inside look at our organization, and as an offering for our readers to help us think about what it might mean for us to really live out these Agreements.

National Equity Project Community Agreements (January 2012)

Tell the Truth Without Blame or Judgment

Hold Each Other Up

Value and Leverage Our Interconnectedness

Foster Creativity and Risk-Taking

Does your school or organization have Community Agreements? Why or why not? What are they?

Tonight we’ll head up to Westerbeke Ranch for our annual Leading for Equity Institute. We always do a set on Community Agreements. It’s really incredible what a deep level of community we are able to create among the group in just four short days together.